The Wheel of the Year — Yule and Its Lore

The Winter Solstice takes place on or around December 21st. This holiday is often called Yule by many Wiccan practitioners, and it is often marked on calendars as the ‘first day of winter.’ It is the shortest day of the year.

The Winter Solstice is, in part, significant to Wiccans because it suggests that even in the depths of winter, there is a promise of the return of spring, and of light and warmth.

The Themes and Practices of the Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice celebrates the rebirth of the sun. The simplest way to celebrate Yule is to rise before dawn to greet the sun as it rises. It is traditional to call upon the Goddess and the God, asking for their presence and their guidance. As the sun rises above the horizon, thanks should be given for the return of the light and warmth that it brings.

This is the very beginning of the return of new life to the land. It is a time of new beginnings. The Winter Solstice is the point at which the daylight hours begin to increase. At this time the Lord of Holly, who presides over the darker half of the year, gives way to the Lord of Oak who presides over the lighter days.

As a part of the Wheel of the Year, the Winter Solstice is the time when the God is reborn in Wiccan lore. The Goddess, exhausted from her labors, needs time to rest. This is not an interpretation of the Christian idea of the birth of Christ, for the celebration of the Winter Solstice is much older.

Some symbols associated with the Winter Solstice include:

• Yule tree
• Yule log
• Holly
• Mistletoe

The Feast of the Winter Solstice

 

The coming of winter brings an emphasis on preserved foods, foods that were laid down at the end of harvest season. Traditional European feasts would not have included turkey, but more likely boar, salted beef or game birds, with winter vegetables, as well as dried nuts.

 

As Christmas comes immediately after the Winter Solstice, it is a good idea to try not to emulate the foods served at Christmas, but rather to provide something different. Honey-glazed roast pork and beef and ale pie are both very traditional. Roast goose is a popular choice for a large gathering.

 

Foods with a sunny theme are an excellent reminder of the rebirth of the sun. Breads baked in a shape of the Sun, sunflower and other seeds roasted with spices, and golden cheeses are all good examples. Fruit pies or puddings are appropriate, as they often use the preserved fruit from the fall. Plum pudding is especially popular during the Winter Solstice.

 

Beverages for the Winter Solstice

 

Mulled ale or wine is very traditional and helps to keep the winter’s chill at bay, and when blended with a little brandy forms the Wassail Cup. Mulled cider is also very tasty.

 

Less traditional, but still appropriate, is hot chocolate with a big pinch of ground cinnamon or a teaspoon of a favorite liqueur. For ritual purposes, mead makes an excellent drink to welcome the return of the sun.

 

Celebrating the Winter Solstice

 

It is easy to get into the spirit of this holiday. Decorate the house with evergreens, especially holly, with its red berries, which celebrates both the Goddess and the God.Mistletoe is considered sacred, as it has long been considered sacred as it grows between earth and sky.

 

The lighting of the Yule log often forms a part of the Winter Solstice ritual, or can be incorporated into a family event. A piece of sturdy wood is needed, part of a cut branch or log, with the base leveled to make it stable. Securely fix a candle for each participant on top. Each person lights their candle and makes a wish for the coming season.

 

Plays can be a fun part of this season. Dark is giving way to light at this time and the battle of the Oak and Holly King, with the Oak King winning, can be reenacted. This battle is of particular significance to most Wiccans. The two are immortal brothers, the victory is temporary and the battle is replayed at the Summer Solstice, with the Holly King being victorious.

 

It used to be traditional to appoint a Lord of Misrule to oversee the Winter Solstice festivities. This would be a person selected at random whose role was to ensure that much fun and laughter took place at the festival. They could set tasks, play pranks and jokes, or demand that each member of the assembly took turns to provide the amusement for all. This is still an entertaining practice for many.

 

Alternatively, a King and Queen for the day might be appointed, whose roles are much the same. Originally they would be ‘chosen’ by the finding of a dried bean and pea located within a cake made especially for the purpose. This is the origin of the silver tokens often added to the more modern Christmas pudding.
 

Many Wiccans and Pagans celebrate this season with a powerful ritual. As Sabbats are celebratory in nature, magick is generally not worked at these rituals.

 

Dressing for the Winter Solstice

 

Fancy dress is an excellent way to get everyone into the spirit of the Winter Solstice. Some Wiccans feel most comfortable in their ritual robes. Others prefer simpler clothing. There is no firm rule here, but it should be something special. Traditional colors for the Winter Solstice include gold, white, red, and green. These can, of course, be incorporated into dress or celebration.

 

The Winter Solstice is a wonderful time of celebration for Wiccans around the world. It is a time of merriment and feasting, and a time to rejoice in the return of the light.

Ashling Wicca, Book One

If you're interested in exploring the vastness of Ashling Wicca, take a look at the first book in the Ashling Wiccan Series. You'll learn the very basics of this tradition and come to understand its mysteries. You also have the option of purchasing the accompanying workbook. Ashling Wicca, Book Two, is soon to be released, so your study of Ashling Wicca can continue without interruption.

From the back of the book:

Now you can study the wisdom and beauty of Ashling Wicca in the first book to ever publish its teachings. The Ashling Wiccan series reveals the mysteries and origins of this unique tradition and presents information useful for both the beginner and the seasoned practitioner. Lessons presented here include history, philosophy, and living the essence of Ashling Wicca.

Because initiation into this tradition can only be acquired under the direction of an initiated High Priestess of Ashling Wicca, this guide is presented by an expert on Ashling Wicca, a woman who has been traditionally initiated into Ashling Wicca. Here you will find the basic information necessary to begin following the Ashling path. Within this book you will find spells and the beginnings of ceremonies and the details of magick in Ashling Wicca. Everything in this book is designed to enhance your experience of Ashling Wicca.

From the back of the workbook:

Learning a tradition of Wicca requires more than simply reading a book. It requires study, reflection, and absorbing the material. This workbook is designed to help the student of Ashling Wicca to do these things. Designed as a companion to "Ashling Wicca, Book One," the workbook provides tests, exercises, journal entries, and reflections all intended to further your understanding of Ashling Wicca.

This book should be used in conjunction with "Ashling Wicca, Book One." The units in each book are identical, allowing you to easily line up the written information from the master book with the tests and other material from the workbook. Use both to get a thorough introduction to Ashling Wicca.

The Philosophy of Wicca

Wicca is a beautiful religion full of love and joy. In its purest form, Wicca lacks the idea of original sin, and the very notion of happiness and salvation being possible only in the afterlife is anathema. The music of Wicca is joyous, expressing love and companionship. This love and joy comes primarily from Wicca’s close link with nature, a link which is reminiscent of what the people of ancient times experienced.

Nature and Ancient Man in Europe

Ancient people lived in harmony with the land. Out of necessity, they were a part of nature, not separate from it. They took only what they needed, and gave what they could. The respected both plants and animals. The natural order of things included ancient man, and they knew this.

This is not to say that the ancients were vegetarians, for they did indeed kill to eat. However, they had an innate respect for what they killed, they used as much of the animal as possible, and they didn’t kill more than they needed. The animal was honored for its sacrifice, not simply killed and consumed. Ancient man had a powerful and unique link with nature.

Wicca and Its Link With Nature

Most modern men and women have lost this link with nature, mostly because they are no longer directly dependent upon nature for their survival. Food is purchased at supermarkets, shelter is obtained though the purchasing of a house or the renting of an apartment, and clothing can be found at the nearest department store. Modern man doesn’t always realize how necessary nature is to everyday survival.

Wiccans see nature in a different light. Even in a world full of technology and mechanics, Wiccans find a connection to nature. A Wiccan understands that everything is alive and connected. A Wiccan might take a walk through the woods and stop to touch a delicate flower or hug a tree, knowing that in some way, this love and joy is transmitted and understood, and that it will be reciprocated.

Creating Your Own Link With Nature

If you wish to experience this link for yourself, take a walk through a wooded area. Find a large tree, preferably oak or pine, and sit with your back pressed firmly against the trunk. Close your eyes, relax your body, and open your mind. Gradually, you will feel exhaustion, anger, and tension disappear as it is absorbed into the tree and dispersed into the earth. Allow yourself to absorb a sense of comfort and stability from the tree. When you feel ready, thank the tree and continue on your way.

A simpler approach is to take the time to appreciate nature as it exists all around you. Acknowledge the trees, the plants, and the animals that share your environment. If you can, go barefoot through the grass, making contact with the earth below your feet. Respect nature and all it represents. This also means caring for nature, as nature cares for you.

People are a part of nature, whether they acknowledge this consciously or not. Connect with people, be among people, and offer assistance when you can. But do not seek to rule another’s life; let them live their own life. And you should live as you will, but with harm to none, as the Wiccan Rede specifies.

Wicca is a religion full of magick and love, as is reflected in its rituals. Its philosophy is no complex than the deep and abiding respect for nature that this religion engenders, and this respect is revealed by the care most Wiccans show all that exists in the natural world.

The History of Wicca: Wicca in the 20th Century

Following the Witch Trials of the 15th and 16th centuries, any surviving pagans went so deeply underground, figuratively speaking, that they seemed to have disappeared entirely. However, a set of beliefs doesn’t die that easily. The 20th century saw a renewed interest in witchcraft and paganism. But the birth of modern Wicca was due purely to the efforts of a dedicated few.

Margaret Murray and Her Contribution to Modern Wicca

Dr. Margaret Alice Murray was a British anthropologist and Egyptologist in the first half of the 20th century. She is most famous for her work The Witch Cult in Western Europe, which she published in 1921. This was the first time in centuries that anyone had looked at witchcraft or paganism with anything resembling an unbiased light.

She proposed the idea that there was a massive and organized resistance to the Christian Church during the Middle Ages in Europe. Murray’s research had led her to believe that the pagan religions, rather than simply being a hoax perpetrated by the Church, were indeed ancient beliefs, beliefs that some had kept alive. She felt very strongly that, in ancient times, before the coming of Christianity, the pagans were an organized religion.

While some of her theories (such as the secret conspiracy of pagans amongst the English kings) proved to be a little far-fetched, and sometimes completely mistaken, she did shine a light onto pagan practice. While it was probably not an organized religion, many forms of paganism, some of which can be called witchcraft, were practiced in ancient Europe.

Though often criticized for her work, Dr. Murray remained very convinced of her position. She later expanded upon her views in her second book, The God of the Witches, in 1931.

Gerald Gardner’s Contribution to Modern Wicca

When the final laws against witchcraft were repealed in England in 1951, those who practiced pagan religions were free to speak for themselves. One of the people who did so was Dr. Gerald Brousseau Gardner. This man, who sometimes operated under the Craft name Scire, was a British anthropologist, archaeologist, writer, occult expert, and he described himself as both a Witch and a Wiccan.

Gardner had spent much of his life in Asia, where he developed a strong interest in native peoples and their magical practices. After he retired and returned to England, he was initiated into the Wiccan faith by the New Forest Coven in 1939. Gardner believed that this faith was, if not a direct continuance, at least related to the beliefs of ancient Europe. Fearing that these beliefs were in danger of being lost forever, he set about making sure that didn’t happen.

In 1954, Gardner published the first truly influential book on Wicca, Witchcraft Today. Five years later, he authored The Meaning of Witchcraft. He devoted himself to Wicca and its beliefs, and initiated many notable High Priestesses into Wicca, among them:

• Doreen Valiente;
• Patricia Crowther;
• Eleanor Bone; and
• Lois Bourne.

Later in life, Gardner would found his own tradition of Wicca, rewriting and reworking many of the rituals he had been taught. Gardnerian Wicca combined the teachings of the New Forest Coven with Freemasonry, Ceremonial Magic, and the writings of occult expert Aleister Crowley.

 

His work has faced some criticism. There have been some who claimed that Gardner made up Wicca entirely, and still others say he took credit for the work done by Aleister Crowley. These charges are probably not true, but even if there were, Gardner’s impact on modern Wicca cannot be denied.

 

Often referred to as the “Father of Wicca”, Gerald Gardner is respected within most Wiccan circles today.

 

Raymond Buckland and Wicca in North America

 

In North America, the first person to publically admit to being Wiccan was Raymond Buckland. Initiated by High Priestess Monique Wilson in Scotland in 1963, Buckland returned home to the United States shortly after. He brought Gardnerian Wicca with him, founding the first lineaged Gardnerian coven in the US.

 

Buckland is an author of some repute. He first began publishing in 1969 with A Pocket Guide to the Supernatural. He published several more books in the following years, and has published a book in almost every year since this time. Though he is best known for Buckland’s Complete Guide to Witchcraft, first published in 1986, he is currently the author of more than forty books.

 

In 1973, Buckland founded his own Wiccan tradition. Seax-Wica (Seax Wicca) is based upon symbolism from Anglo-Saxon sources, but it does not claim to be a reconstruction of any religion practiced during that era. The entire tradition was published in his book The Tree: The Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft. Today, Seax-Wica has thousands of practitioners around the world.

 

There are many other people who have contributed to Wicca’s growth and expansion in the 20th century, such as Scott Cunningham, Sybil Leek, Gavin and Yvonne Frost, and Janet and Stewart Farrar. Modern Wicca survived the 20th century through the efforts of many people who are dedicated to its beliefs and practices.